Sentakuken Freedom of Choice
by shoujo-addict17
Summary: One always has a choice, if one is willing to live with the consequences. If they can remember that, things will go much smoother. Rated M, just in case. The friendship of Naruto and Sasuke will always be in the forefront.


A/N: Hello, everyone. It's been a long time, but I'm ready to get started once again. I discontinued my first Naruto fic, but you should read it before you read this one. The characters are pretty much the same, even if there are some minor changes. Plus I've altered my original story to fit current events. I hope you enjoy!

選択権: _Sentakuken_: Freedom of Choice

Chapter 1

Kazuki Takara was 16 years old. She was the first female Elemental and not very happy about it. Why? Well, fate wasn't very kind to her. You see, the Elemental selection process was not as random as you think. Fate had made it so that she was born with, shall we say, good genes.

She looked down at her chest. They weren't obnoxiously large, but they were enough to get her ogled by every guy she ever met. She had curves which were even more defined because of her vigorous activity. And she was just tall enough that she had to look up at everyone else her age. _I hate life_, she thought to herself.

Takara sneezed and shivered as the cold wind nipped at her nose. She blew the long strand of wheat-colored hair out of her face. That's what Shishou had always said about it anyway; Takara just called it brown. And her eyes weren't cyan either: they were blue-green. All that fancy stuff did was piss her off.

"Ah… Speak of the devil, Shishou," spoke Takara as she looked overhead to see her orders be dropped in front of her by a messenger bird. She read the scroll quickly, destroyed it, and then waved the bird back to base. The General's message didn't solicit a reply.

"My orders… are to do nothing. As always, I suppose," Takara sighed to herself. "But I could at least do recon or something. Well, she didn't order me to return yet, soo…"

The girl was gone, off to explore the surrounding area. _No wonder they held that stupid summit here_, she thought to herself. _The Land of Iron is just gloomy enough for all this Fourth Great Shinobi War nonsense. _Still, Takara was jealous. Although she had been invited (it would more or less have been to be a spectator), she could not accept due to her role as Elemental.

"**An Elemental cannot interfere with the matters of people he cares about. The Elemental is a weapon, it does not have emotions. His duty is to attack, not to protect."**

Those words always rang in her ears. It was as if they were taunting her every action, her every move. The only way she could even rule her country was by being detached and letting Shishou handle most of the work. But there was no way she could interfere here. Not with Konoha involved.

She stopped. People were talking. _Shit_, she thought. _It's the Konoha Shinobi, I'd know those voices anywhere_. Suddenly she heard a thud.

"Naruto! He's hyperventilating, we need a doctor."

"There's no one around here, Kakashi."

There was a pause. Takara could hear her own heart in her ears. Then…

"Who's out there? Come out so we can see you. Are you affiliated with a village, or are you Akatsuki?"

She came out with her hands above her bowed head. "No, none of the above. Sorry."

Kakashi's face turned white against the snowy backdrop. "Takara-hime? No way. I-It can't be."

She nodded, then leaned down to pick up the fallen Shinobi and rest his head on her lap. "I'll make this quick. The stress of the situation at hand is too much for him. He needs to get out of here, somewhere safe." As she spoke, she proceeded to cool off his head with her medical jutsu.

"I-I don't know what you mean, Takara," Kakashi said bewildered.

She shot him a stern look and whispered, "Look, I don't have time to explain this to you. Just do as I say, if you want him to get through the next twenty-four hours without a heart attack."

Yamato spoke next, "But this has never happened before, Hime-sama. That's what we don't get. Naruto has always been strong before."

Takara looked at the strained face on her knees. "You haven't noticed? It's sort of obvious really…" Her voice trailed off for a moment, but she closed her eyes and sighed sadly to continue.

"His heart has been weakening, from the very moment the Kyuubi was first activated. Every time that thing takes over, his body goes under an enormous amount of stress. He's probably had a shortness of breath or chest pains or headaches for a long time, but he'd never let any of you know that. I'm afraid if nothing is done, he could very well die from it. His chakra may be that of a Jinchuuriki, but his body is still human."

"Takara." She looked up at Kakashi. She had always trusted him, but the look in his eye made her suspicious. "There's nothing any of us can do to help him. We need you for this one. You're an outside force, so he'll be more likely to-"

"Don't you say another word!" she interjected. "I cannot get involved here. Me healing him like this is pushing it."

"Then why do it, if it's so risky? Why help him? Could it be that you value his life so much that you would be willing to sacrifice your own for his safety?" Kakashi was pushing his luck and he knew it. But he also knew that she was the only one who could solve the problem at hand. Only the Elemental could save them now.

She looked at him, then she looked to Naruto. His face was less flushed now, but beads of sweat were still on his face. Takara took her hand and gently wiped the perspiration away. She accidently tickled his nose and he stirred. She sighed once again, like the old woman Katsumi said she would become if she kept worrying all the time.

"He holds the key to preventing Uchiha Madara from succeeding, but he is also the key to his success, so yes, I value his life. Uzumaki Naruto is important. And, for that reason, I will break the Elemental creed and interfere."

The two ninja sighed with relief. "So you'll keep him safe then? Where will the two of you go?" Kakashi asked.

"It won't be just the two of us. Of course, from the very beginning, I had a plan. Continue with your counter measures and leave the rest to me."

Kakashi and Yamato did not question her, even that remark about it not being just the two of them. But they were caught by surprise with her parting remarks.

"Oh, and I'll be coming around to gather up Uchiha Sasuke in a little while, so don't be too surprised when I show up again."

End of Chapter 1

Closing Note: Oh, dear. I fear I have slipped into the ole habit of cliffhangers. But I suppose I learned from the best, eh, Kishimoto-sensei? Ah well, who knows if I'll update this again…


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